Ever since Wang Yongji took up the position of the Tax Department, he had studied taxation and discussed it in detail with Zhu Yijun. He had a very deep understanding of taxation.
Especially the words Zhu Yijun said, Wang Yongji still remembered.
"Take from the people, use for the people!"
Although it was only a few words, it explained the truth of taxation.
The emperor had properties, and the emperor's properties also had to pay taxes. All the revenue from taxes went to the national treasury.
If the emperor wanted to spend money, he could, but he couldn't use the money from the national treasury. He could only use his own private property.
Of course, the emperor had told Wang Yongji that this was his future goal.
In the emperor's words, the Tax Department will open a new chapter. This was also the reason why Wang Yongji was willing to work hard for it.
Reading the books of sages might be for the sake of beauty, or for the sake of the house of gold, but it was also to realize the great ambition in his heart.
At this time, Wang Yongji had this kind of ideal. He could feel a fire burning in his heart.
But many times, the fire needed to be restrained, otherwise, it was very likely that he would ignite himself. This' Please Return the Land 'was Wang Yongji pouring a bucket of cold water on himself. At the same time, it was also a helpless compromise to reality.
Offering was a group of people taking advantage of a loophole. Or maybe it wasn't taking advantage of a loophole, but it was a dereliction of duty and the officials bending the law.
After all, the original intention of exempting the scholars from taxes was good, but exemption didn't mean that they didn't have to pay taxes. However, the civil officials made exemption into not paying taxes.
The local officials turned a blind eye to this, because they were also a part of it.
They even carried the tax exemption forward and created a monster like offering.
The common people didn't understand anything. They didn't know the meaning of taxation. They only knew that it was fine as long as they didn't have to pay taxes.
As a result, the imperial court's tax revenue became less and less. They couldn't afford to raise an army or provide disaster relief. These people should all be punished.
But they couldn't!
Not only the common people who offered couldn't be punished, but even the gentry who accepted the offering couldn't be punished.
The Kong family of Shandong occupied a lot of land, and the offering accounted for 70 to 80 percent of it. If these lands were confiscated, then what would happen to the common people who offered?
Would they lose their land and have to rent public fields?
Daming's public farmland had many problems, and the common people had always been unwilling to rent public farmland.
As long as it was public land, not only would taxes be collected, but the rent would also be very high. There were also corrupt officials who committed fraud and embezzlement. If these lands fell into the hands of local officials, within a few years, there would inevitably be civil unrest in Shandong.
As an official, I only hold office once every three years. As long as nothing happens while I'm in office, I don't care what happens.
Everyone seemed to be playing the game of passing flowers by beating the drum. Whoever got the flower would be the unlucky one.
However, Wang Yongji could not allow Shandong to fall into chaos. He thought of another way, which was to divide the land.
The confiscated land was distributed among the tenant farmers.
Of course, there were those who had been forcibly taken. Of course, there were also those who had initially offered themselves.
The good and the bad were mixed together, so it was impossible to divide them. They could only divide the land together.
Return the land to them and let them become self-employed farmers. With the government and the gentry working together, the tribute would become meaningless.
It didn't matter if it was a normal land transaction or annexation. If you have the money, just buy it!
Wang Yongji did not believe that anyone had the money to buy so much land. 100 mu of fertile land was 8,000 taels of silver. Let me see if you want to buy 10,000 mu of land!
The more Wang Yongji wrote, the more excited he became. He did not respond even when his attendants came in to light a lamp for him. It was not until he finished writing the memorial that Wang Yongji sat up.
Wang Yongji gently unfolded the memorial, only then did he feel his body stiffen.
"Come, come!" Wang Yongji tried to stand up, but he failed. He could only call for help.
With the help of his attendants, Wang Yongji stood up and walked back and forth gently. The expression on his face was very bright.
Although the distribution of land would make those who offered dissatisfied, it would make the tenant farmers who did not have land very happy.
The people's hearts were definitely useful. Wang Yongji believed that countless people would be grateful for his and the emperor's kindness.
The Forbidden City, Wenhua Hall.
Zhu Yijun looked at the memorial sent from Shandong with a very indifferent expression on his face. Putting the memorial aside, Zhu Yijun said with a smile, "Xu De wants to come back. Pass the decree to him. Since he has gone out, he doesn't need to come back in such a hurry."
After thinking for a while, Zhu Yijun said with a smile, "Let him follow Wang Yongji to Nanjing!"
Although Shandong was a tough nut to crack, Jiangnan was also a tough nut to crack. However, Shandong was different from Jiangnan.
That place was like a big net, from the officials to the gentry, it was woven tightly.
If Wang Yongji bumped into it, Zhu Yijun was afraid that his head would be broken. With Xu De there, Zhu Yijun was also relieved.
Picking up another memorial, Zhu Yijun glanced at it and put it aside. This was a recommendation for a person named Li Yi. He was recommended to be the county magistrate of Qufu.
Qufu was very important, so the candidate for the county magistrate was also very important. Zhu Yijun decided to arrange for a capable person to go.
Li Yi was a capable person. He was born in the Inner Factory. When he was a child, he begged in Shandong. His whole family died, and he was the only one who survived.
Zhu Yijun felt that it was good for people from Shandong to go back to Shandong. After all, the mountains and rivers of their hometown were more intimate.
In the cabinet.
Shen Shixing looked at Wang Yongji's "Please Return the Land" in his hand and sighed. "Wang Yongji is a genius!"
Without the slightest hesitation, Shen Shixing directly drafted it and only wrote two words: "Approved!"
Reaching out to pick up a memorial, Shen Shixing frowned as soon as he read it.
"Please Reduce the Agricultural Tax"!
This memorial was submitted by Imperial Censorate Hu Guang Imperial Messenger Dai Wei. Shen Shixing frowned as he flipped open the memorial.
In this memorial, Dai Wei talked about the sufferings of the people and the hardships of the people.
After the government and the gentry paid taxes together, the revenue of the imperial court increased greatly. It was time to reduce the taxes.
Shen Shixing sighed helplessly. He reached out and tapped on the memorial. This memorial had put him in a difficult position.
If it was in normal times, this kind of memorial would not be a problem.
There were many people who submitted memorials like this every year, and no one cared.
But at this time, this memorial came in a very subtle way.
After the matter in Shandong was settled, the tax revenue of the north of the Yangtze River was basically settled. Everyone could see the result of the government and the gentry paying taxes together.
Today's taxes were bound to be a jaw-dropping figure. What would the emperor think if he submitted a memorial to reduce the taxes at this time?
Perhaps it was out of loyalty and for the sake of the people. Since the imperial court was rich, it would collect less taxes.
Or perhaps it was not loyalty at all, but because his family had to pay a large amount of taxes, and his heart ached.
At this time, if there was a ruckus, something bad would happen.
After all, the government and the gentry paying taxes together would affect the interests of all the gentry. Once this fire was lit, who knew what would happen?
"I respectfully await your judgment!"
After thinking for a long time, Shen Shixing also thought of a good idea. He directly wrote these words on the memorial.
Soon, Zhu Yijun, who was in the Wenhua Hall, saw this memorial. He immediately reached out and threw it to the side.
For the current Zhu Yijun, these things could be completely ignored. They were useless.
In reality, Zhu Yijun was confident. He could be considered to have complete control of the imperial court.
Although the Ming Dynasty's internal strife existed, the real peak period was from 10,000 years ago. After Zhang Juzheng was overthrown, the Jiangling Party was also purged.
Originally, Zhang Siwei should have been in power, but in the end, he was too unlucky.
Just as he was about to reach the top, his father died. Then, his whole family died, and in the end, he died too.
The vacuum in the imperial court caused an even more intense party conflict. The Donglin Party and the Qizhechu Party.
The Qizhechu Party represented the traditional landlord class in the north, while the Donglin Party represented the rising gentry class in the south.
Emperor Tianqi was very good at using the conflict between the two sides to cultivate his own eunuch clique.
When the eunuch clique was completely overthrown by Emperor Chongzhen, only the Donglin Party was left in the imperial court. At that time, the emperor could be considered to have completely lost control of the gentry group.
Emperor Chongzhen also thought about saving the situation and killed many high-ranking officials, but it was already too late.
Because the people who came up were still from the Donglin Party, Zhu Yijun was not afraid of them now.
The Jiangling Party was in power in the imperial court, and most of the officials were also from the Jiangling Party. Zhang Juzheng's examination method had already swept away the disobedient officials.
As long as he didn't court trouble, he could firmly control the country's political power.
Coupled with the support of the army, he couldn't cause trouble even if he wanted to. The worst thing was that the officials in control of the imperial court were in the same party as the local officials.
For example, the Donglin Party had the Grand Secretary of the Cabinet, the Ministers of the Six Ministries, and the local officials. The emperor didn't have any bargaining chips in his hands, so it was impossible to do anything at that time.
Zhu Yijun now had the Jiangling Party in the imperial court, the Dongchang Internal Factory, and the powerful military camp in the capital.
Although they hadn't reached the point where they could intimidate the world, they had the right to ignore what other people thought.
For example, this Land Tax Reduction Proposal. Zhu Yijun could completely ignore it. If they had the guts, they could cause trouble and see.
The Donglin Party was so powerful, but hadn't they been beaten by the eunuch clique to the point where they couldn't fight back, let alone these old fellows in the imperial court.
"Reform of the Imperial Censorate!"
Zhu Yijun reached out and tapped on the memorial, then turned to Zhang Jing and said, "Have the cabinet draft an edict to transfer Imperial Censor Wang Zhuan from the Nanjing Imperial Censorate to the capital. By the way, what is Wang Jiaping's current position?"
"In reply to Imperial Majesty, Wang Jiaping is currently the Junior Minister of the Zhan Shi Manor!" Zhang Jing quickly replied.
Zhu Yijun nodded and said, "Have the cabinet draft an edict to transfer him to the Right Imperial Censor of the Imperial Censorate!"
Over the next few days, there were still people who submitted petitions for land tax reduction. However, these petitions didn't even reach the Bureau of Rites and were directly suppressed by the cabinet.
The major officials in the imperial court didn't even talk about this issue, so it didn't cause any waves.
Shandong, Qufu.